Tui Na Therapy: Relieve Your Dog’s Aches and Pains Naturally

Tui Na therapy, also known as acupressure-massage therapy, is very effective at resolving musculoskeletal aches and pains in dogs.

Dogs love fun and frolicking, not aches and pains. So if you notice your dog is more sedentary than usual, and is avoiding activity, it’s important to find out why and how you can help her. Tui Na is one way to soothe your dog’s aches and pains and get her moving again. 

Get to know your dog’s body

Using the palm of your hand, slowly and gently sweep over the contours of her body from head to hind paw. Repeat these flat-handed sweeps all over her and ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you feel any areas on your dog’s body that seem tighter or cooler? 
• Are there any “lumpy” or soft places where the muscles should be smooth and feel toned? 
• Are there any spots that are hotter than they should be? 
• Does your dog flinch or pull away when you touch her at certain areas? 

Hint: Watch how your dog walks. Is she favoring one side of her body? Is her movement fluid? Is she holding her head at the right level for her breed or mix?

Note any areas you think might potentially be a tight muscle or a tendon that feels hot. If your dog flinched when you touched her somewhere, repeat the touch and see if it happens again. 

Contact your veterinarian if you have any concerns about what you find and follow their recommendations. Your dog might have arthritis or another type of joint problem, and will need veterinary attention. 

Tui Na Therapy Session for Dogs

If your dog is generally in good shape or simply needs to get back in shape so she can enjoy some fun and activity, you can help her get back into action by offering this simple Tui Na therapy session.

There are two specific techniques you can do to make sure your dog’s muscles and tendons are supple and receiving the proper nourishment to be comfortably active.

Start with Tui Fa

In Tui Na therapy, the first technique to help with dog pain relief is Tui Fa, a “pushing” technique. Using the heel of your hand, trace the Bladder Meridian from your dog’s neck, down her back just off her spine, and over her hindquarter to the larger muscles on her hind leg. Trace the meridian gently, but with intent. Repeat Tui Fa three to six times on each side of your dog.

Hint: On a small dog, use the soft tip of your thumb instead of the heel of your hand. 

 

Follow with Mo Fa

Wherever you felt muscle tightness or cool areas on your dog’s body, you can use a different technique called Mo Fa. This is a circular rubbing technique. Mo Fa is primarily used to release and warm tight tissues, thus bringing nourishing energy and warming blood flow back into the tissues. Using a flat palm on your dog’s body (or the soft tip of your thumb or pointer finger on a small dog), apply light pressure and rub in a clockwise direction until you feel warmth emanating from the tissues. 

Hint: When using either of these Tui Na techniques, be careful not to press too hard.

 

Applying too much pressure makes the body contract naturally to protect itself and surrounding tissues. Pressing too hard will cause the tissues to react by contracting and tightening up again, which is exactly the opposite of that you want your dog to experience. Use gentle, relaxing pressure instead.

As a healing therapy, Tui Na is gentle yet powerful, and effective at resolving muscle spasms and constrictions and easing aches and pains. When your dog’s muscles are well nourished and supple, she’ll feel her best and can enjoy running on the beach or hiking in the mountains. “Fun” is always the name of the game for our dogs, and Tui Na can help keep it that way!

Understanding Tui Na

Tui Na is ancient Chinese acupressure-massage therapy. Tui is pronounced “tway”, with a long “a” and slight “ee” at the end, followed by “nah.” The words translate from Chinese to English as “push-grasp.” This form of bodywork has been used to heal people and animals for over 3,000 years.

The purpose of Tui Na is to promote the circulation of energy, nourishing blood, and other vital substances to all the tissues of the body. These hands-on techniques are highly effective for resolving musculoskeletal conditions. For instance, when muscle tissue contracts and loses its elasticity and flexibility, the nerves in the tissue send pain signals to the brain. This muscle constriction usually results in limited, painful mobility. As a result, some dogs become self-protective and limit their activity.

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